The Break (An Eddie Munson Story)

Chapter 29: I Love You (+12K views!)

A/N: Hi! Hello! I'm back! Sorry for the two day delay. This chapter was a little trickier to write than expected. As much as I love writing daily updates, sometimes it's just not possible to stick to my self-imposed deadline. I'd rather take longer to write an update, than rush and write something subpar.

Before we continue with the chapter, I just want to say, how surprised I was to see this book reach 12K views. Thank you so, so much. I am truly in shock and hardly believe the support this book is getting.

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Darkened windows greeted you, as the police car pulled up outside of the trailer. The only guiding light available in the murky night, was the solitary bulb from the porch, that acted as a beacon to guide you home. Tire marks dented the muddy ground, freshly caused by Eddie's truck. You hoped that he was not searching the empty streets, looking for you. Following your run in with Jason, all you wanted was the brunet's warm and welcoming presence, to help banish the growing unease that threatened to overwhelm you. Though, you had to admit, part of you was relieved that, Eddie would not have to pay witness to you in the back seat of a police car. The sight of the law enforcement would be a surely cause Eddie an inevitable heart attack, or the result in profitable but incriminating gear being unnecessarily flushed down the toilet.

After thanking the two officers for the lift, you quickly exited the car and unlocked the front door in record time. Finally, you were alone- no cops, no Jason. Just you and and the empty trailer. Switching on the kitchen light, through eyes momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness, you noticed a piece of paper on the table. Much like the note you had left a few hours earlier, Eddie too had penned his own apology letter. He had waited for you to return but had had to leave once night fell to run an errand. Despite how internally shaken up you felt, seeing his own scribbled smiley face, made you weakly chuckle in surprise. As a postscript, he had kindly informed you that there was food waiting for you in the microwave.

Your stomach rumbled loudly at the thought of a warm meal. The (beef/chicken/vegetable/vegan) burger and fries was a welcome sight and even more appreciated meal, which you wolfed down, almost as if it were your last meal. Fear made you inexplicably hungry. You recalled how much you consumed after your first run in with a Demogorgon. It had been Steve that had dragged you, Jonathan and Nancy to the local diner- the only place open during the early hours of the morning- where you had eaten your weight in your favourite dishes, while the others could barely pick at their meals. From then on, whenever the upside down or danger had beckoned, one of your friends had always made sure they carried around a granola bar or something for you to eat, granted you all survived the latest threat to Hawkins and life as you knew it.

Hunger partially sated, you dragged yourself to the bedroom and crawled into Eddie's bed, still fully clothed. Not that you cared much about your current state of dress. Kicking off your shoes, you fell into the unmade sheets and curled yourself up into a foetal position, feeling the tension seep from your bones, as you found comfort in the familiar setting.

Your eyes had only shut for what felt like a second, before you were jostled awake by Eddie's failed attempt to slip into bed, unnoticed. With a groan, you rolled over and buried yourself into his side. "Hey, baby. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." he apologised, as he wrapped his arms around you.

"You're home." you murmured sleepily, wiping your eyes with the sleeve of your clothing.

"Heh, I could say the same thing." he chuckled, as he settled down to rest comfortably beside you, body grateful to finally be able to rest. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm..." the brunet's question was like a knife in your gut, as the memories from earlier flooded your mind. Your mind raced at high speed, trying to formulate an appropriate response but if one detail was omitted from your reply, then more questions would surely follow, you concluded. "Well, actually..." it was easier not to lie, so you explained as best, as you could in your exhausted state, the events that had taken place on the side of the road.

Much to his credit, Eddie remained somewhat calm, as you told him of Jason's threat to drag you back to the trailer park. It was only when you finished speaking, that he reacted to your words.

"What the fuck. What the actual fuck! Who does he fucking think he is?!" Eddie fumed, abruptly sitting up, taking your arms gently in his feather-like grip, as he pushed up the sleeves to check your skin for any marks that Jason may have caused when he grabbed your arm. "Oh, baby." he gasped in horror, when his gaze fell upon the finger print bruises that had been left behind by the basketball Captain's moment of rage. Eddie's thumb gently brushed over the purple shade, that matched the similar injuries on your face. "I'm gonna kill him." he hissed, more to himself than you. "'M so, so sorry, baby."

Pulling yourself away from his touch, you brought a hand up to push away the curtain of hair, that blocked the brunet from your view and carefully tucked some of the rogue curls behind his ear. "I'm okay now, Eddie. I promise." you sighed, as you guided him to lay back down with you. Instead, of his encircling you, you held him close, preferring the weight of his body pressed against you. He heat of him, chased away the cold terror that flared up within you, every time you thought of the crazed look in Jason's eyes and the flare of his nostrils, as he had seethed about his girlfriend talking to Eddie. "I'm more worried about Chrissy." you confessed, already feeling the burn of unshed tears. "I hate this town." you whimpered, burying your face in the crook of Eddie's neck, as frustrated tears ran down your heated cheeks. "I hate how people like him, can just walk around and be so cruel, yet everyone thinks he's the fucking next best thing since sliced fucking bread." a sob wracked through your body, so you gripped tighter onto your one lifeline. The brunet being the only thing keeping you somewhat grounded during your lapse of distress. "Yet you've never hurt anyone and they treat you like shit." the words tasted bitter in your mouth, as you thought of people like your parents. So fake in their Love Thy Neighbour attitude, when in reality, they were not capable of even loving themselves.

Eddie was at a loss on how best to comfort you. So used to having the town's venom directed towards him, he had rarely stopped to think about how unfair the situation truly was really. He hated the idea of you wasting your tears on the hateful actions of a society that, did not deserve even a second of your consideration. He agreed whole-heartedly with your sentiments. People like Jason were the true months, that stalked the streets under the false pretense of a God-fearing Christian, who could do no wrong. It was people like him, that gave religion a bad name.

Words failed Eddie, as he thought about how messy the situation had become, just by Chrissy being a good samaritan and daring to tell Eddie that something bad had happened to you. Now, all three of you- you, Eddie and Chrissy- were intrinsically linked by the looming threat of violence, that Jason could potentially inflict upon any of you all, if he ever discovered the truth. A truth that even you were unaware of.

"You once told me that I deserved the world but you, Eddie Munson..." you gently cupped his face in your hands, as you took notice of the glassy look in his eyes, that made your heart constrict with sorrow. He looked so lost at how to process your emotional admissions. The words that next fell from your honeyed lips, were so different from your previous confessions and made him audibly gasp. "I love you so fucking much and even then, I don't think it's enough because you deserve so much more than what I alone, can give you."

While he hated lying to you, or at least omitting any incriminating details from his responses, Eddie would have rathered you be kept in the dark, than put at a higher risk of danger. It was in that moment, the brunet vowed to keep you better protected, so that an incident with Jason would never happen again. The bruise on your upper arm only further cemented Eddie's belief that while he had to ensure Chrissy survived until graduation, you too needed to be kept out of harms way. He knew that he had made the right decision not to tell you about how exactly he was planning on helping the cheerleader. The less you knew, the less likely Jason was to hurt you again. Eddie cared very little for his own personal safety but you? For you he would die a thousand deaths, if it meant keeping you safe.

"I...I love you too." he breathed, a watery smile overtook his features, as he regarded you with nothing but adoration. "I love you so, so much, Y/N." he laughed in spite of himself, as you tenderly wiped away the rogue tears that sneakily escaped from his brown eyes. "You know," he chuckled, taking your hand that dried his tears into his own. "one of these days we'll say 'I love you' without one of us crying."

"Never." you disagreed, as you dared to place a chaste kiss to the column of his neck. The alabaster skin beneath your lips, blushed pink, as the brunet found himself suddenly flustered by your impromptu action. It was by far the most PG act you had ever committed upon his body, yet in all it's innocence, it felt the most sinful and while Eddie Munson was no angel, he considered that maybe he had indeed died and gone to heaven.